Top-ranked UConn a tall order for IU

February 04, 2006|DOUG WILSON Bloomington H-T

The Indiana Hoosiers face a tall order today against top-ranked Connecticut. The Huskies will put on the floor a front line that could be the nation's best with 6-foot-11 Hilton Armstrong, 6-10 Josh Boone and 6-9 Rudy Gay. Led by that trio, UConn is blocking a remarkable 9.5 shots per game and grabs almost 10 rebounds per game more than its opponents. "They're the best I've seen," Indiana coach Mike Davis said. Davis said UConn is so stocked with talent that you can't focus on one or two players. "Their whole team is good," Davis said. "They play hard. They really attack the glass. They block shots. They run the transition. It's a scary sight to watch them on tape." UConn's only loss this season came on Jan. 3 at unranked Marquette. The No. 22 Hoosiers have lost just one game at home this season. That came in their previous match-up with a No. 1 team, Duke. Like the Duke game, IU officials are again asking Hoosier fans attending the game to wear white to create a "White Out" for the nationally televised game. Unfortunately for IU, its biggest problem for the UConn game is that it has a White out, sophomore forward D.J. White. In his most definitive statement about the subject so far, Davis said Friday that White will be out for the rest of the season with a broken foot so "there's no light at the end of the tunnel in waiting for him." In White's absence the past six games, the Hoosiers have struggled defensively in the paint. Facing their biggest challenge inside against UConn, the Hoosiers are expected to start 6-8 Sean Kline and 6-5 Robert Vaden alongside 6-8 Marco Killingsworth. "They've got a lot of guys with a lot of height," Vaden said of UConn. "They've got a lot of inside players. They go to the offensive boards. Their big men run the floor hard, so we're going to have to get back in transition." Vaden is likely to draw the matchup against Gay, a player some analysts believe will be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft this summer. "You've got to box them out because they're going to the offensive boards every time," Vaden said. "You've got to front them in the post. And one of the biggest things for us is going to be our help-side defense." Vaden is hopeful that he'll have an advantage on offense with Gay or another taller player defending him. IU's Killingsworth had a big game in the Hoosiers' last battle against a No. 1, with 34 points and 10 rebounds against Duke. But unlike the Blue Devils' strategy of guarding IU's outside shooters tight and allowing him a one-on-one matchup inside, Killingsworth expects more of the double- and triple-teaming he has seen in recent games. Killingsworth, who has been in a three-game slump as opponents have collapsed around him inside, said UConn's shot-blocking prowess won't stop him from trying to score near the basket. "If you block shots or not block shots, I go up as strong as I can," Killingsworth said. "If they block so many shots, I'm just going to shot fake them some and see if they go for it." Davis said to combat defenses focusing on Killingsworth, IU needs to get back to where it was earlier in the season when the Hoosiers were moving the ball better and shooting well. In addition to having outstanding interior players, Davis believes the Huskies have one of the nation's best point guards in junior Marcus Williams, "an unbelievable passer off the dribble." "We have to play really, really well to even be in the game with them," Davis said.